Going by the name DanTDM, he has clocked up an incredible 14billion online views, adding an average 250million more every month.

And what are those viewers doing?

Watching him play games, including Minecraft, or answering gaming ­questions from devoted fans. And it nets him earnings that eclipse those of supermodel and actor Cara Delevingne.

Dan’s videos of himself playing games are so popular he is embarking on his first arena tour, kicking off at Wembley SSE Arena next month.

He knows he can fill it — he has already sold out Sydney Opera House.

Six years ago he was earning the minimum wage stacking shelves in Tesco and topping up his electricity with a pre-paid key to play games

It is a hell of an achievement, but even more impressive given that just six years ago he was earning the minimum wage stacking shelves in Tesco and topping up his electricity with a pre-paid key to play games.

Dan, who married childhood sweetheart Jemma in 2013, appears among better-known and ­obvious big earners in the annual Rich List of the UK’s wealthiest citizens — he is worth the same as Man City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, also 27.

Dan said: “It’s pretty mad to be ­surrounded by football players and big pop stars. The YouTube industry is quite alien to a lot of people.”

His passion has transformed his and Jemma’s lives. They employ a cleaner and a gardener to maintain the ­country home where they spend nearly all their time with their ­Instagram- famous pugs, Ellie and Darcie — who have 287,000 followers of their own.

He said: “When Jem and I moved in together we would go around the supermarket picking up things and adding it up on our phones.

'CINEMA ROOM'

“I think we had £30 to spend on food every two weeks. Not above that. Soup was a great one.

“And we had an electricity key. We had the lights go off a few times.

“Now we live in our dream house. It has five bedrooms, two converted into offices, and there is a cinema room and a pool. I drive a Range Rover, Jem drives a Mini and I did indulge in a V8 Aston Martin Vantage.”

It may be hard to imagine, but broadcasting on YouTube is a full-time job, and Dan spends eight or nine hours a day editing his videos.

He said: “There’s a common misconception that if I uploaded a 20-minute video that I just pressed ‘record’ and put it online. It’s not that at all.”

And despite his wealth Dan prefers staying home to travelling. He said: “We’re not that extravagant. I always say we’re the worst wealthy people ever. We don’t do much with our wealth at all. We should do.

“We should get a private island — that’s an option. We donate a lot to charity. I don’t drive the Aston any more so I might sell it. It was my dream car when I was younger.”

Dan was born in Aldershot, Hants, to an Army family. They moved house a lot, making it hard for him to settle.

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Dan married childhood sweetheart Jemma in 2013

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Dans passion for games such as Minecraft have brought the trappings of wealth

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DanTDM has clocked up an incredible 14billion online views, adding an average 250million more every month

More upheaval came when his ­parents divorced when he was ten, and he began suffering crippling shyness and anxiety. He said: “Divorce is hard enough when you’re an adult — never mind when you’re a child.

“That was probably when my shyness started, when I was at my shyest.”

It attracted attention from bullies, but Dan was a resilient kid and always had computer games to take him away from his troubles.

He said: “I kept myself to myself. Everyone experiences bullying at some point — there are always older kids who think it’s cool to pick on the younger kids. I would not say much, concentrate on work then go home.

“Moving and knowing no one on the other side of the country was difficult and fuelled my shyness and anxiety.”

But, as Dan now realises, his childhood trauma helped him achieve his dreams, as he turned to gaming as a distraction. He said: “I wouldn’t change ­anything. Video games were my way of escaping.”

It was at high school that Dan met Jemma — who he credits with driving his YouTube career.

He had just finished a degree in music production and was working at Tesco when he began receiving his first royalty cheques from YouTube.

SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST WORLD TOP 10

1) THE WALTON FAMILY – £132bn: US family who own Walmart and Asda.

2) CHARLES AND DAVID KOCH – £79.5bn: American brothers who own conglomerate Koch industries with interests in energy, chemicals, finance and electronics.

He said: “I am a very cautious ­person. After the third month my YouTube cheque equalled what I earned in the supermarket.

“I said I’d ride it a bit longer and see how it went but Jemma said, ‘No, do it now, this is your time’. She’s a smart woman.” Dan was just 21 when they wed but he said: “When you know, you know. We’ll be together for ever, easily. My wife is my most important thing to me. Being single and doing this job would drive you crazy. Having someone there who can listen to you and support you emotionally is so important.”

In November 2012 Dan feared he would lose Jemma. She was rushed to hospital with severe stomach pain and diagnosed with appendicitis.

But when the routine op went on for eight hours, he knew something was seriously wrong. He said: “They found it wasn’t her appendix at all, it was all this diseased bowel and it was Crohn’s ­disease, so it escalated.”

Jemma is now managing her condition, which causes bowel inflammation, but Dan faced his darkest days as she recovered in hospital.

'STABLE HOUSEHOLD'

He said: “I’m usually quite positive but I got to the point where I couldn’t do anything but cry. And there are not many days like that.”

After ten years as a couple, Jemma and Dan are talking about starting a family, and Dan is grateful to have a job that keeps him at home.

He said: “It’s good to know my kids will never want for anything — not just materially but also a stable household. That is when the hard work will pay off, when I can stay home with my kids.”

With most of his fans aged between eight and ten, Dan is proud to be a role model with a squeaky-clean image — which he revealed is genuine.

He said: “I am like that. I don’t swear, I don’t drink, I don’t party, that’s just me. I’m not being someone else, I have tattoos and that is it.”

And even with £25million, he is not tempted to be a wild child.

He said: “I could afford a lot of drugs but no, that’s not the life I want to lead. I’ll never go off the rails — that’s not me.”